I always delay (i really have no interest) learning to drive because I still have faith and hope that one day our public transportation will be upgraded. And, it looks like I’m not going to be totally disappointed. Hopefully, it will be “fully” realized in my life time. 🙂

Riding jeepney is still romantic but sometimes you wanna skip romanticism…

Anyhow, the bus ride was still romantic as it was so intimate like were are this squeezing on each others’ body. 🙂 But that’s how it is wherever we are in the world during peak hours, right?

So we lost internet connection for 2 weeks last December which felt like death sentence to Mark. So to solve it and won’t happen again, Mark rented a condo unit in the city where there’s a cafe and co-working spaces in less than 500m radius just in case that same major crisis will happen again (God forbid!). To make it look not a waste, he called it “office.”

And, also the sky looks pretty today so I’m making 1.28 the official moved in date.

We’re on our way to the airport when I read the advisory for change of flight schedule aka delayed flight. So we went to have knickerbocker instead.

I have to agree with mg Zamboangueno cousin that there was really nothing extra special from it compared to the typical halo-halo. One main difference is that knickerbocker has no crushed ice. Other than that, like halo-halo, it’s the ingredients that what makes it special.

Other random photos from this date:

Shooky going places according to Meg.

Waiting for My Bus 🙂We went straight to SM City Cebu for her school Christmas party stuff. @.@

We went to Sta Maria Church for Day 1 of Misa de Gallo. My aunts and uncles are devoted.

SATII TOUR

After listening to my aunt’s war stories and my uncle’s personal experiences, it’s hard for my view about Zamboanga City to be not tainted. Somehow, I kinda tend to act a bit with caution when trying to move around the city.

I won’t elaborate because I have a very skewed idea of it. But anyhow, my rose-tinted view of things is a bit tainted. 🙂

After the mass, I went for a run but it’s just really walking with an uncle and cousin. As always, first morning in a new place is dedicated to taking a walk around the area to familiarize where things are.

We passed by boulevard. I wanted to take a longer route around the city But I was with my relatives, and sometimes it’s hard for me to explain why I do such boring walking around aimlessly.

Anyhow, I took aimless boring walks around nee place I’m in for random finds which is probably not mapped in google maps or www.

I thought Satti is a Zamboanga version of satay or barbecue but there’s a big difference. Satti is just not barbecue; it’s a meal set of beef or chicken or mix with sliced “puso” drowned with spicy sweet sauce. Looking at it, it looks like it’s the sauce, which is more of a soup, is the main thing of the meal set. Everyone eats it like it’s a soup, not just a sauce, which explains other local dishes here.

YET ANOTHER CITY TOUR

But minus the van and driver. I really love walking and public commuting in new places. You know that boring thing becomes exciting when you’re in a new place. There’s a certain thrill in me when I figured out or at least tried how locals public commute.

Except that this time, 2 babies joined us. 🙂 It’s not that I don’t want them to join me; I’m just worried about carrying them around in dust, and heat, and crowd. Anyhow, the babies were such a trooper except for their runny nose.

We 360’ed the Zamboanga City. We went up to Pasonanca Park. There’s nothing much there but you just got to tick it off. It’s a nice destination for a public commute. 🙂

We went up via tricycle.

And, this baby was sound asleep the whole time we’re in the park.

We went back to the Pueblo, their city center, via jeepney. Our cousins, the local guide, let us walk around downtown (think of Colon area version of Zamboanga City) with 2 kids in tow just to find a jeepney that will get us to a “that place that cannot be named.” I would have totally love it except I was worried all the time about the kids.

So these “excessive” sauce is something unique in Zamboanga. It’s where the solid food tends to be small proportion then you pour over a lot of sauce, which you eat it like a soup.

This is called pastilla, which is like empanada with a ngohiong-like filling, you must drown it with sauce; remember satti.

From a tourist/visitor, it may not be felt but hearing the cousins’ sentiments, there’s really a bit of something between “chavacano” (usually refers to Christians) and Muslims here. I might have misconstrued it. Like Sta Maria, where we went for Misa de Gallo, is generally a “chavacano” area, and there’s also an area which is generally populated by Muslims.

But as a tourist, I don’t really feel it. And #til that Badjaos are not Muslims; they may be not officially registered as Filipinos as they are really more of nomads. But they’re “protected” by the government as indigenous people.

* That place that cannot be named. There’s that unwritten rule that it’s not a thing for us to just go walk easily to a Muslim’s place. So we went to this “Muslim” resto, and decided to not tell the centennials about it.

This was the day that we’d experience the bigger and biggest cities of The Land of the Rising Sun. So today was also the day we “cashed out” that 7-day JR Pass, the epitome symbol of being a tourist in Japan. 😂

But first coffee before leaving Osaka. Something I noticed in Japan is that there are a lot of female baristas. Probably, 70% of the coffee places I’d been to, the baristas were women! Cool!

About the taste / scene of coffee in Japan, it’s like a political debate to me which I kinda don’t want to touch! Chos!

——

Exes Baggage. We had 2 big luggage trolleys, and 1 hand-carry sized trolley. Too much luggage but it’s because Mark John, he got to have a back-up of the back-up of the back-up. 🤷🏽‍♀️

One of the luggage, we left at the Inn in Osaka because we’re coming back to Osaka. The other one, we had it couriered. It’s a service Mark was really fascinated, and so used it even if I think it’s unnecessary. But it’s really convenient fosho!

This luggage forwarder has a cat logo. So inevitably Japanese! 🙂 (This just gave me an idea that if I want to make a business to attract Japanese, my logo will be cats!)

—-

Fashion.

Japanese

Japanese… tourist!

and my GITOOK (strangled) Fashion. Anything to survive from the coldness.

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Bullet train. Let me just call it bullet train because shinchansin is too much to spell and speak. 🙂

The thing I love most about the bullet train is the leg room. Being used to budget airlines, the leg room is just so generous.

But it’s making me light-headed, like my brain felt like it’s suspended in the air.

Landing in Yokohama, where will be staying because too poor for Tokyo, I was shocked looking at the throng of people in the station. I thought Osaka station had too many people but Yokohama was 4x; I could not just imagine how it’s gonna be in Tokyo!

——

So finally into our first meal in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanto Region. As a habit, I would just open foursquare for recommendations!

And just 250M from our Hotel was a 8.sthing ramen place! Wow! I love Yokohama!!! (I guess it has a lot to do that we stayed nearby the main Yokohama station so there were streets and alleys of food stalls or shopping streets as how’d they call it. It’s like we’re in the middle of downtown Colon!)

Until…

WHAT IS THAT???

Excited for the 8.sthing rated Ramen shop, I dashed inside the place before seats would be taken but I was signalled by the Ramen staff to go out and get meal tickets first….

It was really my first encounter with that “meal ticket” machine, and it did not help that it was in Japanese, and there were no photos!

But this is 8.sthing rated on foursquare, I got to figure this out. Though, it’s kinda “sabotable” that the first 2 top most buttons must be the main options. Thankfully, an English-speaking Japanese was lining next to me and helped me figured it out! 🙂

We chitchatted with him, and he told us that he studied English in Baguio, and stayed for awhile in Bacolod.

So thank God for Filipino English for this ramen!

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Insert other photos. We went up to Tokyo!!! 🙂

We passed through Shibuya crossing. And I was not disappointed with the number of people. It was how it was from photos on the internet. 😂

Owkei, let’s move on fast. Probably 250 meters away from crossing, and there were way too much less people. It made me think that the people crossing Shibuya crossing were paid “actors” to make it a “tourist attraction.”

When going to a new place, I usually expect myself to get a bit of a grasp of the place on 3rd day like the basics know-how of transportation, where to get “daily konsumo (consumption),” how an area is mapped out (like where is the hip place, the touristy place, the daily life boring places). But at this day, I’m still groping. I saw the touristy places but I badly need the area of the “boring daily life places” of where residents get their basic needs fulfilled.”

All I figured out was Uniqlo and 711. It got me impatient. It’s not Japan’s fault but I got frustrated disappointed that after all the ninja and master craftsman I read about Japan, it’s just one big Uniqlo and 711.

No, it cannot be!!!

(All we had in the nearby area at the place we’re staying was an Indian resto, a Vietnamese resto, a soba resto where there’s always a line, and a huge swanky 711. My options were either a P800/meal (resto) or P250/meal (711). Where can I get something in between? (I honestly do not know what is the price of meal for an “average” person in Japan but I’d feel lucky if I could get in the range of p500-700/person that is not 711 in Osaka.))

The 711 is something I had a hard time understanding in Japan. It’s not the first time we met convenience store but it’s just weird to see it as something very part of their culture???Could we ever survive Japan without 711??

Anyhow, enough of my whining. I could not be sulking all day because I could not find an equivalent of our carenderia.

On to some victory, my first train ride alone in Japan happened this day. I find bus systems easier to understand but I had not much choice but to go for trains in Japan. The thought of going to the subways already scares me, like could I ever get out of it alive?? Char!

My goal was to go to as many yarn shops in the 5km range.

I saw the prettiest yarn shop I came across in my crochet life.

I came across a strip of food shops, which I thought was probably the equivalent of “carenderia” I was looking for!

I had to screenshot the google map of the location for reference for our next meal. (If you’re first time in Osaka, here’s a protip.)

Department stores and malls are something unavoidable in Japan. I always find myself ending up in a mall. Maybe because of my itinerary but I always came across them. And, I thought mall culture is only a Filipino thing? Anyhow, what’s the few years we’re under them, right?

This was in Umeda area, where the Osaka station is located. A major train station is definitely surrounded with malls with a lot of basements, which was so difficult for me to understand especially when I’m spatially-challenged. It’s so hard to understand the different basement levels from Google maps not to mention that their malls have south / north / east / west hugeeee areas.

But something I learned, the basements of malls are food haven.

Anyhow, I found 2 out 3 yarn shops inside the mall! I was not that bad!Who would have thought there’s a yarn shop down there?

As always, it’s best to explore a new place on foot. We went for an early morning run towards the Kyoto Imperial Palace.

SKYWALK. Something familiar in Japan is Skywalk, one of the “knowledge transfer” we got. 😂

Around Kyoto Imperial Palace.

Best Attempt at the autumn color just because… 🙂

Strolling through the main road, it’s kinda weird and cool to see people in the same color palette lining up walking towards one direction, to their offices (I guess.).

Then we thought of going to Dotonbori to pay homage to Glico man, that running man billboard.

But we backed out because there were too many people heading to that direction. Instead we ended “holing up” in a coffee place we passed by, Millpour.

I stopped by at 711 before going back to the Inn we’re staying because somehow 711 became a must. I usually bought some food stuff to take in between.

Banana, something I had to turn my head away because I kinda find it too expensive. Sad. 🙁

This structure is a sign that it’s already my street, my hood in Osaka.

Our first dinner in Osaka was Indian food. Our first lunch is Vietnamese food. Apparently, our neighborhood food places are either 711 or this other Asian restos except for Japanese food.

Insert random photos of this day.

Selfie at a shop because it’s my very first time to wear boots ever in my whole life.

We went to Shinshaibasi shopping street. I went to Uniqlo to buy additional heat tech underlayer. Uniqlo is relatively cheaper here. But better not go to this Uniqlo Shinshaibasi branch if you can because too much people.

I wanted to eject myself right away from this place because it’s too crowded. But I have to endure it for Glico man. As a “runner,” I have to pay homage to that Glico man.

Insert random photos.

Dinner, some random finds from the hotel’s resto. I dunno if these were Chinese or Japanese food or both.

These were the first concerns I had to ask the hotel staff when we arrived in Osaka which made the staff so perplexed like from what planet I was.

“Do you have safety box?”

I mean their whole country is probably one big safety box.

“Where to get drinking water? Should we buy mineral water?”

Yes, the water in the bathroom can be used from drinking to flushing your poops. 🙂

Enough said. 🙂

Day 2 started with a “I woke up like this i. Wakayama” selfie. I went up to the rooftop of Guesthouse Rico without much covering up to “acclimatize” to the coldness.

The breakfast not so #selfie.

I love Wakayama. I’m so happy we had our first days in Wakayama.

Out and about around Wakayama.

First ramen of this trip, and it was in Wakayama.

CAT ECONOMY

Cat is a big thing in Japan. They’re like everywhere.

We rode the Tama Train Cat station. It’s like the Hachiko but cat version. It’s an old train station which was supposed to be stopped but then converted into some sort of tourist attraction with the story that a train staff had a cat who used to ride with him. It’s probably some story made up to make it interesting.

Anyhow, we rode the train for the daughter who likes cats. Also, there’s a coffee shop in one of the train stops, only it was closed when we were there.The most famous car I ever met. People awere

lining up to get a photot with it.

LOCKER ECONOMY

Storage locker is being offered around Japan. It’s where you can store stuff. This is quite helpful for us.

Then off to Osaka City. I think we got on the slowest train which was included in our Kansai train day pass. Not complaining though!

Finally reunited with my luggage which was delivered by a luggage forwarder to our hotel in Osaka.